James O'Brien

Hockey Daily Dose

Power up with these Panthers

Believe it or not, the Florida Panthers currently sit atop the Southeast Division standings. Sure, they only have one more point and one less win than the Washington Capitals despite playing in two more games, but they’re still there. That's quite an accomplishment for a team that seemingly was more about the future than the present.

Speaking of still being there, the beauty of an upstart team like the Panthers is that a lot of their top guns are available in a decent amount of leagues. On the flip side, you could get burnt if those players fizzle out after a hot run. Let’s start off this Daily Dose with a look at the players you should take a look at.

NO-BRAINERS

Brian Campbell – My guess is that “Soupy” is the least likely player to still be a free agent in your league for the simple reason that scoring defensemen are rare. Yes, he might not ever live up to his contract. Yet with 15 points already, he might just be worth 7.1 million fantasy dollars (which I imagine would look a lot like Monopoly money).

Kris Versteeg – The most established talent (other than Soupy) among the Panthers’ top scorers, at least as far as being dynamic is concerned. He’s been scooped up in a lot of leagues already and won’t stay this hot (18.2 shooting percentage) all year long, but he’s a great option if he’s still around.

(Again, he won’t be around for long if he still somehow is, though.)

Jose Theodore – Theo is the third of the Panthers’ fantasy trinity. He’s probably around in more leagues because there are less pieces of the rotisserie pie for goalies. Consider him a no-brainer if you even have a slight need for goaltending; as I’ve been hammering with other guys, there's nothing wrong with stocking up on netminders because an excess of quality ones could provide great trade bait.

STEADY BUT UNSPECTACULAR

Stephen Weiss – By the end of the season, Weiss will probably remain the consensus best all-around player on the Panthers’ roster. In fantasy terms, he hasn’t always been as valuable, but he has an enticing 12 points so far. Center is a position flooded with talent, so I might say “pass” on him until leagues find a better way to gauge defensive ability than plus/minus.

INTRIGUING MYSTERIES

Tomas Fleischmann – Now we’re getting into the “intriguing gambles” category. Fleischmann’s health is harder to forecast than his last name is to spell, but the guy has legitimate talent. Like Versteeg, he’s been traded around the league but might just find a home in Florida. He also matches Versteeg’s willingness to shoot, as he already has 40 SOG this season.

Dmitry Kulikov – It looks like Kulikov has made the transformation from “promising prospect” to a legitimate NHL contributor, although it would be nice to see him add some goals. He’s all assists so far, with 12. He’s a no-brainer in deeper leagues and might be worth a short-term look if you need defense in any situation – just don’t expect him to fill up other categories.

Jason Garrison – He’s a tough nut to crack. As much as I want to dock him points because defensemen aren’t steady goal scorers, he’s gotten his six goals on 40 shots, which ties him for second place on the team in SOG with Fleischmann. Keep him on your radar, if nothing else.

MEH

Tomas Kopecky – Kudos to Kopecky for fitting in so well (I hated the amount of cash they spent on a three-year deal for him, even with the salary cap floor in mind), but I don’t think he’s a fit for your imaginary squad.

So that’s my take on the top Panthers. They’re likely to run out of some of this magic soon, but fantasy owners would be glad to get a lot of these guys at 80-90 percent of what they’re doing right now – which is possible in many cases. After the jump, check out praise for another Boston Bruins forward, the few useful players in Columbus not named Rick Nash and more.

Believe it or not, the Florida Panthers currently sit atop the Southeast Division standings. Sure, they only have one more point and one less win than the Washington Capitals despite playing in two more games, but they’re still there. That's quite an accomplishment for a team that seemingly was more about the future than the present.

Speaking of still being there, the beauty of an upstart team like the Panthers is that a lot of their top guns are available in a decent amount of leagues. On the flip side, you could get burnt if those players fizzle out after a hot run. Let’s start off this Daily Dose with a look at the players you should take a look at.

NO-BRAINERS

Brian Campbell – My guess is that “Soupy” is the least likely player to still be a free agent in your league for the simple reason that scoring defensemen are rare. Yes, he might not ever live up to his contract. Yet with 15 points already, he might just be worth 7.1 million fantasy dollars (which I imagine would look a lot like Monopoly money).

Kris Versteeg – The most established talent (other than Soupy) among the Panthers’ top scorers, at least as far as being dynamic is concerned. He’s been scooped up in a lot of leagues already and won’t stay this hot (18.2 shooting percentage) all year long, but he’s a great option if he’s still around.

(Again, he won’t be around for long if he still somehow is, though.)

Jose Theodore – Theo is the third of the Panthers’ fantasy trinity. He’s probably around in more leagues because there are less pieces of the rotisserie pie for goalies. Consider him a no-brainer if you even have a slight need for goaltending; as I’ve been hammering with other guys, there's nothing wrong with stocking up on netminders because an excess of quality ones could provide great trade bait.

STEADY BUT UNSPECTACULAR

Stephen Weiss – By the end of the season, Weiss will probably remain the consensus best all-around player on the Panthers’ roster. In fantasy terms, he hasn’t always been as valuable, but he has an enticing 12 points so far. Center is a position flooded with talent, so I might say “pass” on him until leagues find a better way to gauge defensive ability than plus/minus.

INTRIGUING MYSTERIES

Tomas Fleischmann – Now we’re getting into the “intriguing gambles” category. Fleischmann’s health is harder to forecast than his last name is to spell, but the guy has legitimate talent. Like Versteeg, he’s been traded around the league but might just find a home in Florida. He also matches Versteeg’s willingness to shoot, as he already has 40 SOG this season.

Dmitry Kulikov – It looks like Kulikov has made the transformation from “promising prospect” to a legitimate NHL contributor, although it would be nice to see him add some goals. He’s all assists so far, with 12. He’s a no-brainer in deeper leagues and might be worth a short-term look if you need defense in any situation – just don’t expect him to fill up other categories.

Jason Garrison – He’s a tough nut to crack. As much as I want to dock him points because defensemen aren’t steady goal scorers, he’s gotten his six goals on 40 shots, which ties him for second place on the team in SOG with Fleischmann. Keep him on your radar, if nothing else.

MEH

Tomas Kopecky – Kudos to Kopecky for fitting in so well (I hated the amount of cash they spent on a three-year deal for him, even with the salary cap floor in mind), but I don’t think he’s a fit for your imaginary squad.

So that’s my take on the top Panthers. They’re likely to run out of some of this magic soon, but fantasy owners would be glad to get a lot of these guys at 80-90 percent of what they’re doing right now – which is possible in many cases. After the jump, check out praise for another Boston Bruins forward, the few useful players in Columbus not named Rick Nash and more.

MARCHAND WIN

Brad Marchand looks to be Tyler Seguin’s running mate in Boston, so if you’re kicking yourself for passing on the surging sophomore, go for his running mate. Marchand won’t score as much as Seguin, but he should be reasonably close and will likely fill up a lot of different categories with his pest-like behavior. He already has 31 PIM on the season, for instance …

NOT SO BLUE JACKETS

It’s miserable in Columbus right now, but as of this writing, nothing major has happened (unless you really like Kris Russell’s game). Chances are that you shouldn’t expect big changes, then, at least from guys like Steve Mason.

Aside from an obvious pick in Rick Nash (who almost depressingly hit career point 500 on Thursday), there are a few guys worth looking at in Ohio. The first is Vinny Prospal, who might be a wing in some leagues and improbably has more points (13) than Nash’s 12. The second guy is Grant Clitsome, who has eight points and a last name that’s a double entendre waiting to happen. (I’d probably put Clitsome on a watch list instead of adding him right now, though.)

The last is the most intriguing one, at least in a couple weeks: Mark Dekanich. He was supposed to serve as a backup for Mason but suffered an injury that scuttled the Blue Jackets’ plans. Considering how terrible things have been for Mason, it’s not crazy to think that Dekanich could steal some starts and maybe even make a name for himself in the equivalent of “garbage time.”

Dekanich might even be this year’s answer to Johan Hedberg – a goalie who puts up nice numbers while his team is hopelessly out of the playoff race. Make note of him now even if he's a wild card at the moment.

BELIEVE IN SCRIVENS?

Things were looking pretty dire for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Ben Scrivens might have a chance to be a solid backup for James Reimer (who reportedly isn’t far from skating again). Scrivens isn’t really a long-term answer in net, but he might be good for a few spot starts over the next week or so as Reimer tries to make his way back from injury.

Of course, Scrivens’ rise could lead to complete irrelevance for Jonas Gustavsson, which hopefully won’t be of much consequence to Daily Dose readers.

INTRIGUE ON THE ISLAND

As some point, the logjam in the New York Islanders’ net will be settled. Rick DiPietro is about as trustworthy as Tim Connolly’s health, so the two guys to watch are Al Montoya (47 saves on Nov. 10) and Evgeni Nabokov. If “Nabby” gets traded to the right place – or even the wrong place, like Columbus – it could be a nice low-risk, medium-reward situation in net. I’d be weary regarding Montoya just because the Islanders seem to be a few strides short of where they really want to be, though.

QUICK HITS

Tomas Plekanec gave fans and owners a scare when he left the ice after falling awkwardly into the boards, but he returned to the game so the Habs center should be OK … Judging by Devan Dubnyk’s most recent performances, the Edmonton Oilers might be forced to play 38-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin more than they’d like, which is both good and bad news fantasy-wise … Milan Hejduk (10 points, 50 SOG) and Kyle Quincey (12 points as a defenseman) are two Avalanche players you should strongly consider if you can stomach the plus/minus risks.